If you love pasta, look no further! This Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole joins my Cajun Chicken Pasta Alfredo, Million Dollar Macaroni and Cheese, Baked Penne, Classic Lasagna, Cheesy Tortellini Al Forno and Cheesy Taco Pasta Bake as a richly satisfying and decadently delicious pasta bakes that will be on repeat!
HOW TO MAKE chicken bacon ranch casserole VIDEo
Ingredients in Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole
This Ranch Chicken Casserole recipe is creamy, cheesy, and incredibly hearty! Let’s take a closer look at the ingredients needed for this recipe (full measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post):
THE PASTA AND ADD-INS
THE SAUCE
How to Make Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole
This Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta Casserole will be a favorite new addition to your weeknight lineup – with everyone cleaning their plates from adults to kids alike! Before starting this recipe, you’ll need to cook the bacon (I recommend doing so in the oven!) and also cook and shred the chicken if you didn’t buy a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken at the grocery store. Once those tasks are done, the rest of the Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole comes together quickly!
Step 1: Cook the broccoli. Add the broccoli to a pot of boiling water that’s been generously salted. Cook the broccoli for 3-5 minutes, depending on how tender you like your broccoli. Remove using a slotted spoon or fine mesh sieve, then rinse with very cold water before transferring to a plate so it doesn’t continue to cook.
Step 2: Cook the pasta. In the same pot you cooked the broccoli in, proceed to cook the pasta until al dente, rinse and drain.Step 3: Make the cheesy ranch sauce. Sauté the onion, bell pepper and garlic in a mixture of melted butter and olive oil. Add the flour, then cook to get rid of the raw flour taste and smell. Gently whisk in the half and half, broth, and all of the spices (including the dry ranch seasoning mix). Simmer until thickened, then stir in the cheddar, mozzarella, and sour cream.
Step 4: Assemble the pasta casserole. To the ranch sauce, stir in the chicken, broccoli and half of the bacon until evenly coated, followed by pasta.
Step 5: Dig in or bake. At this point, you can serve the pasta straight from the skillet or proceed to make it a casserole. For the latter, transfer the pasta mixture into a 9×13-inch baking dish. Cover with additional shredded cheddar before baking. I like to add an additional sprinkle of crumbled bacon at the halfway point for an extra pop of salty flavor.
Skip the baking and extra cheese. This Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta Casserole doesn’t have to be baked! It can be served straight out of the skillet without the added cheddar on top. Swap protein. Swap the shredded chicken for ground chicken, chicken sausage, lean ground beef, ground sausage or even tuna. Cook these proteins completely before adding to the pasta. Skip the protein. You can instantly turn this pasta casserole into a side dish by omitting the chicken. Don’t skip the bacon, as it adds tons of flavor! Swap veggies. Other possible veggie substitutions include petite peas, zucchini, asparagus, mushrooms, spinach, etc. You will want to sauté or steam the veggies before adding to the pasta. Add panko topping. There are two ways to add panko: 1) sprinkle panko over the top of your casserole and spray lightly with cooking spray; bake according to directions and then broil; 2) for the CRUNCHIEST panko topping, I recommend toasting it in a skillet first – life changing. To do this, melt 2 tablespoons butter with 1 tablespoon olive oil in a medium skillet. Add ¾ cup panko and stir and cook until the panko becomes golden brown. Evenly sprinkle over the Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta Casserole and bake according to directions.Make casserole gluten-free. To make this recipe gluten free, use your favorite gluten-free pasta and gluten-free flour. Halve the recipe. This casserole is quite filling, so if there’s just a couple of you at home you might want to halve the recipe. To do this, simply halve all of the ingredients by using the sliding scale next to the servings in the recipe card and bake in an 8×8-inch casserole dish.
Tag @CarlsbadCravings and Use #CarlsbadCravngs Leave a Review, I Always Love Hearing From You!
